Blog about a woman cyclist reflecting mostly on cycling in a whole host of forms, including the odd adventure on or off the bike!
@2wheelchick

Tuesday, 9 August 2016

7 Soundbites from... Chris Froome

It was great to catch Chris Froome in person when he recently came over to England for the Ride London Classic.

It was a bit crowded trying to catch him in the mixed zone straight after his ride, but I was glad to say a few words to him, even if they were just your usual finish line platitudes!

As he is the man of the moment though, I still would like to put down a few of the words that he said to me as well as what he said to my fellow journalists at the BBC at the finish line in Rio de Janeiro after the Olympic Road Race.

My mission is to catch him and have a more in-depth interview in the future - Sky permitting!

I am glad that we did not see the return of Crash Froome during the road race given the hazardous nature of the descent, and hope he can get some sort of silverware in the time trial tomorrow.

1. Ride London is amazing. Seeing how many people there were
out on the roads shows how far cycle sport has come in Britain in the last few
years.

2. The 20-minute break did disrupt the race a little bit as
we were in a good group and had got a rhythm going. We completely understand
why we had to stop. We didn’t want another Ventoux situation!

[The race was stopped for 20 minutes to allow the road to
clear following delays as a result of a couple of serious incidents during the
cyclosportive, and a few of the later riders were still out on the race route.]

3. This is the first time I’ve stopped to pose for pictures
mid-race!

4. Some of the difficult moments I had during my early
career in Kenya have definitely taught me to be self-sufficient in my approach
to racing.

5. I really appreciate the set-up that I am in now in Team
Sky and in Team GB. It’s second to none.

6. It [the Olympic road race] was a seriously full on race. Quite
a few people have complained how dangerous it was but it was exciting. No one
would have predicted that podium. [1, Greg van Avermaert (Bel); 2, Jakob
Fuglsang (Den); 3, Rafal Majka (Pol)]

7. I don’t really think I have affected my chances in the
time trial I buried myself in London four years ago as well. I was completely
spent. And I was fine in the TT a few days later. Three days should be enough
time to recover.